But Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Kanley reiterated the government position against such a declaration, saying that would be more appropriate in the event of a contagious disease outbreak.

“None of those powers will assist us in this case, but they do give the government significant ability to violate civil liberties.”

Mike Ellis, PC MLA for Calgary West says those rights could be protected.

“Just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to act on those powers. I focus on the education component of this. I’ve been calling for this (declaration) for more than a year and following in suit with what British Columbia has done. More awareness is a good thing.”

Meanwhile Calgary’s police chief says if Alberta doesn’t get on top of the fentanyl crisis, the province will bear the consequences for a long time.

Chief Roger Chaffin says they’ve had success going after the suppliers of the drug, but it will continue to be a problem until there’s more help for addicts and more education.

“This is not a problem that can be solved by bigger jails and more arrests.” says Chaffin. “That is part of the solution but the bigger part of the solution is that everyone has a common understanding of what these issues are. This is an Alberta problem, this is a public health crisis problem, its a community wellness problem.”

Chaffin adds this is not an elite drug affecting a small segment of the population. It’s inexpensive, and its relatively easy to get.

“It’s in different age ranges, people in their 60s to young teenagers and you just can’t go to an area and say ‘hey, that’s where all our opioid addicts are’, that’s the challenging part. ”

In the first six months of 2016, there have been 153 deaths in Alberta attributed to fentanyl use. (ms, News Talk 770)